Takeaways from ASIP2023

These were the keynote presenters during the Asian Society and Innovation Policy Conference (ASIP2023), held on 22 and 23 September 2023. Parking the notes here for posterity:

Dr Yutao Sun (Dalian University of Technology, China)

Involvement & State Contribution to innovation = national innovation system/ scheme, cooperation with govt agencies

Policy+ Funding + Talent + Organisations (4 pillars)

Attract returning talents

Book: The Political Economy of Science Technology & Innovation in China

Q&A tech transfer with uni, funded by industry or govt; also challenge in entrepreneurship culture in universities

Prof Jonathan Winterton (Leeds University UK)

The end of work (as we know it)?

The phoney war for talent/skills = forecasts of unavailable/lost jobs due to tech may not ne accurate

Disruptive tech e.g. AI

Future = automation assumed to displace people BUT tech also create jobs

Transformation in coal mining, clothing & aerospace job restructure

Job losses also caused by socio economic reasons

Tech increase need for upskilling & learning on the job

Highest risk in low skilled jobs & many held by women

Adrian Hia (Partner, Kairous Capital)

Digital Transformation within enterprises: A Case study in Corp Ventures & VC

Fear of making mistakes overwhelms drive to make a difference >> Enterprises move slower & with caution, if they have more to lose (Lifecycle of an Enterprise)

How to extend LC?

Leverage VC

VC skill set & expectation of projects they take on

Corp venture: new space, new solutions, spur innovation

Sorato Ijichi (Creww, Japan (founded 2012))

Open Innovation

Startup ecosystem in Japan

Platform for entrepreneurship + startup in Japan via open innovation

Startup collab with big corporation (win win), accelerator programme to match corporations to startup, 6 mth programme

20-30 prog a year, have produced more than 1000 partnerships

Kickstarters ÷ capital from big corp & eventually foreign investors + open innov tax deductions

Global sustainability accelerator prog w Google for startups

Juan Carlos (Nordic Apiary)

Nordic Global Innovation (Enterprise Sales & Investments)

Nordic country = innovation leaders

Most digital region in the world

Most energy efficient countries in the world

Innovation + increasing complexities + talent shortage

IT has become core biz & in company's DNA, no longer support function

Software as strategic asset but hyper competitive products/brands ( so how to stand out? )

Innovation

    - automation

    - new production (eg AI)

     - sustainability + ESG

Availability + Empowerment

Digital acceleration > Increased complexity > Need data + system integration > Higher digital threshold

SaaS & iPaaS = leverage on other technologies

Shortage of talents - upskilling & accessibility

Solutions 

    - validate skills

        - matching supply & demand

    - employment options e.g. not having on site employees

Noraminah Omar (Startlah Innovation)

How MSMEs can grow & thrive innovatively

Innovation = do things better

Case studies

•     Agak Agak Nyonya
•     Penternakan Sumber Unggas = animal feed
•     Nasi Lemak Saleha = central kitchen + food delivery + supply at LRT and Petronas Mesra

How they grew innovatively

    - Leadership

    - Technology Adoption

    - Collaboration & Partnership

10 types of innovation in MSMEs:

1. Network 
2. Process 
3. Product System
4. Channel
5. Customer Engagement
6. Profit model
7. Structure
8. Product Performance
9. Service 
10. Brand

Environment/Ecosystem of innovation

1. educator
2. biz service
3. politicians and policy makers
4. public

Prof Ho Chin Kuan (Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation)

Are machines fair?

Crime Prediction Tool

Bias in ID recognition

Google speech recognition bias less than 50% accuracy in transcription

CEO image search = male

Face recognition for darker skin Amazon

"Fairness" is intuitive to humans but challenging to define technically

Bias

• encoded in data
• minimise errors by fitting majority
• inability to explore alternatives

Mitigation

• pre process
• during
• after/post testing

AI has HIGH carbon footprint Forbes 21 Aug 2022

• Options:
• Use renewable energy
• Energy efficient chipsets
• Pretrained models

The Premium of Native Speakers

This year I had an opportunity to work with my PhD supervisor to write a book chapter. Well it was primarily written by him, with research done by the co-authors (myself and another). 

I have learnt immensely on writing and analysing based on his writing (for the record I know how to write and analyse before this, but by working on this project I got some ideas to improve my own thesis). Being a native speaker (of English) and of course a good writer (and a super smart person), the work was pretty solid. We added some comments and contribution. The work has been submitted for review & we will know by the end of next month if we made the cut for publication in Jan 2024 (we most probably would). Yay!

Many3 years ago I went to A-Levels with a girl whose mom is British. We had to do an IELTS exam to qualify to study in the UK. The IELTS Band range from 0 to 9, 9 being the highest at the native speaker level. I managed a meagre 7.5 which qualified me to do law (I had to get at least 7.0), but this girl got 9.0. Wowie. Words got around like wildfire on campus. Nobody ever got 9.0. Good for her.

When I worked at the university, an advert was released by the Language Centre to recruit English and Korean language teachers. "Native speakers" welcome/ preferred, or something along that line. There is something about them that carries a bonus. I have also come to realise that not being a native speaker, some nuances of the language might be completely lost on me. 

2 years ago (or non native speakers like me may write it as "Last 2 years") I re-did my IELTS exam and got an 8.0. Still not at the native speaker level, but I would say pretty decent. Keep on improving please.